The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, #1) in The Sword and Laser

Nov 26, 2018 Michelle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, science-fiction, audio, 2018, dystopian, lgbtq, book-clubs, bbbbc, award-winner-hugo, lgbtq-gay

Oh wow, what to say about the Fifth Season?! This is a unique little gem that tells the story of a world tearing itself apart, where some have the ability to move the earth beneath them and things are far more complicated than they initially seem. It’s intricate and bizarre and so so good!

The story is told from three perspectives: Damaya, Syenite, and Essun. All three are women who are considered Orogenes, those that can feel the earth beneath them and manipulate it as easy as they breathe. Each Oh wow, what to say about the Fifth Season?! This is a unique little gem that tells the story of a world tearing itself apart, where some have the ability to move the earth beneath them and things are far more complicated than they initially seem. It’s intricate and bizarre and so so good!

The story is told from three perspectives: Damaya, Syenite, and Essun. All three are women who are considered Orogenes, those that can feel the earth beneath them and manipulate it as easy as they breathe. Each of these perspectives is incredibly different in tone giving us a pretty wide view on what it’s like for an Orogene in The Stillness (the world they live in). Each of these women is at different stages in life with different connections, and it just adds so much to the story to see how each one responds to oppression, abuse, and family. It’s truly difficult to pick a favorite perspective because each one adds something vital to the story and they work together to create this much wider picture slowly but surely over time.

The style of the story is where I think most people will have issues, and admittedly I did at first when I attempted this solely in print. Essun’s perspective is told in 2nd person, which is something rarely attempted in books, and you are placed into her story directly. It’s kind of bizarre at first, but I think it served to really add a level of emotion that I’m not sure would be there otherwise. We get a sense of how orogeny feels and how Essun struggles with her personal identity and loss. There is also the matter of world-building, which is done based on what our characters know themselves with the rare exceptions of the interludes which give you just a touch more than you should know. As a result we don’t get a clear picture of the planet’s history and culture surrounding Stonelore, because most of the characters we spend a lot of time with either don’t know the answers or keep them heavily guarded. This reads like a post-apocalyptic book set on our own Earth, which is never explicitly stated but I think kind of adds a level of wonder to the story. How did it get to this point? Why has the world and it’s people changed so much?

The audio version of this book is absolutely excellent! While the print copy has a very helpful glossary of terms that I think is worth a little extra money to have on hand, I think the audio version is the way to go. Robin Miles the narrator, who I listened to for the novella Binti, does such an amazing job! She has an excellent range of voices and some fantastic pacing.

For a book that has such an iffy start it quickly became one I didn’t want to put down. I’m super excited to move onto The Obelisk Gate and see just where these characters’ stories lead us, because after the intense ending it would be impossible not to continue onward. ...more

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Jan 06, 2019 Quincy Chen rated it it was amazing

Imagine, dear reader, a fantasy novel titled The Fifth Seasoning in which sorcerer-chefs employ arcane seasonings to produce dishes bursting with flavor and magical power. Sounds like an amazing premise, right?

Of course, The Fifth Seasoning does not exist and The Fifth Season does. No matter. The Fifth Season is so rich, so engrossing, and so good that I didn't mind the fact that I wasn't reading the -ing version instead. But hey, Ms. Jemisin, if you're looking for ideas for your next series... ...more

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May 12, 2017 Shaunesay rated it it was amazing

This book deserves every bit of the hype it has gotten and more. Here is a list of the awards and nominations it has received:

Hugo Award for Best Novel (2016)
Nebula Award Nominee for Best Novel (2015)
Locus Award Nominee for Best Fantasy Novel (2016)
The Kitschies Nominee for Red Tentacle (Novel) (2015)
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fantasy (2015)

Did you know there was a Red Tentacle award? Me either! But now I need to go find out more about it!

I was lucky enough to be at the Hugo Awards This book deserves every bit of the hype it has gotten and more. Here is a list of the awards and nominations it has received:

Hugo Award for Best Novel (2016)
Nebula Award Nominee for Best Novel (2015)
Locus Award Nominee for Best Fantasy Novel (2016)
The Kitschies Nominee for Red Tentacle (Novel) (2015)
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fantasy (2015)

Did you know there was a Red Tentacle award? Me either! But now I need to go find out more about it!

I was lucky enough to be at the Hugo Awards when this book received Best Novel last year, and it was so exciting! There was so much happiness in the room that N. K. Jemisin had won. It felt like a love wins victory after the weird political divisiveness that has been going on in the Sci-Fi and Fantasy world that is such a mirror of real world politics. I wasn't aware of that until I knew we were going to World Con and had started doing some research and ran into articles discussing the different factions. I would have expected this genre to be the most open minded and accepting of all, considering it is based on magic and imagination and science we haven't achieved yet. But alas it still has some ugliness to work out. I think it's dwindling, but it is still there.

That cannot dim the greatness that is The Fifth Season. This was such a well crafted and interesting world, story and cast of characters. There are many messages worked in, class systems, prejudice, history being set by the winners, and rewritten to suit the regime, all woven into a story where it fits, it's not forced, it just is part of the world. Which brings up another idea to me, acceptance of what is, because you don't know any different, and the idea that maybe you need to look further than the surface to see what's really going on. The world itself is so intriguing to me, the "powers" that certain people have are geology based, and it is definitely a post apocalyptic world, perhaps many times post apocalypse, as is suggested in the first line of the summary. This has all happened many times before, they have lore which relates instructions on how to survive it, but maybe that won't be enough this time. There are mysterious DeadCiv artifacts from long gone times, and strange floating obelisks that clearly served an important function, which has been lost over time.

Enjoy isn't the right word for this, I was fascinated and so interested to see where it was going. I'm definitely in for the rest of the ride, and highly recommend it! I wish I had taken notes while I was reading it, there were so many a-ha moments and "I see what you're doing there" that I'm finding difficult to relate now after the fact, universal truths and parallels to our world that make this one changed yet still recognizable to us. Yes, I'm gushing. I'll stop now, you should definitely check out this 5/5 book for yourself! ...more

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Apr 16, 2017 RogueHireling rated it it was amazing

This book was amazing.

I'm actually surprised how much I ended up liking this book, mostly because I didn't really enjoy the beginning. I disliked the vague intro and the first person perspective, so much so that I started skimming. A few chapters in I was hooked, but had to start over due to skimming.

Well it was worth it. This book is well worth reading. Its exactly what good science fiction should be.
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Apr 04, 2019 Chris rated it it was amazing

I had been meaning to read this book for a while. For whatever reason I just couldn't seem to read more then the first page or so, but I finally did and absolutely loved it. I guess i just needed to be in the right head space to fully grab on to the ideas in this book. I don't have a lot more to say other then I can't wait to start on the next book. ...more

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